John Mason was taken by surprise at the May membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. when he was called up to the podium to receive an award from the Department of Defense, which was presented to him by SIU Vice President Contracts Augie Tellez.Mason is CEO of American Service Technology, Inc. (ASTI), a maritime consulting group which, among other things, provides training at the Paul Hall Center.
The award certificate read: The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves recognizes John Mason, American Service Technology, Inc., as a patriotic employer for contributing to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve Force.
Mason noted that over the years, a number of his employees have been able to satisfy their reserve duty requirements while continuing their training professions at the Paul Hall Center.
One of the more recent instructors to take advantage of the policy is Bradford Wheeler, who went through the trainee program in 1977 (class #239).
Now a commander in the Naval Reserve, Wheeler spent the first two months of this year on board the Independence (a training vessel for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy). During his yearly reserve commitments, he also has worked with U.S. Army reservists going to the Persian Gulf, boarded ships to inspect crews and cargoes and conducted drills at MSC headquarters in Washington, D.C. His teaching assignments at the Paul Hall Center include tanker familiarization, ARPA, bridge resource management, crisis management, electronic chart display information systems (ECDIS), radar, advanced fire fighting, fast rescue boat, GMDSS and crane operations—among many others.
Wheeler sees ASTI’s policy as additional support for the maritime operations that are important to the security of our country. “It all ties in to what we do here at the school,” he said.
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